Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-10-06
gHE MANCHESTER SCHOOLS.
Eui:oInGs Soon TO Begin-TO Have
Assistant Teachers.

The Joint Committee on School
Buildings, composed Of the Committee
on Grounds and Buildings of the Man
chester Council and three members Of
the School Board of that city, held a
meeting yesterday afternoon in the
Office OF Mr. Walter Il. Higham,
in Skaters building, Richmond. Mr.,
Higham is the architect who has been
awarded the contract for furnishing the
plans and specifications for the two
new school-houses proposed to be
erected in Manchester. He some time
ago furnished to the Manchester School
Board a rough draft of his plans, which
embrace the best features OF the diff
forent buildings in Richmond.
The object of this meeting was to
make an examination Of the plans now
complete and to consider some matters
of detail. The members of the COM
mittee were very much pleased with
the appearance of the plans. Mr..
Higham will complete the details of the
specifications this week, and will make
all estimate of the cost of the buildings
to be presented at a special meeting OF
the Council, which President Perdue
will call for Monday night to consider
this subject.
CAPACITY.
The buildings, description OF which
tie Dispatch has already published,
are to be one with capacity for 600
white pupils and the other with capaci-
ty for 400 colored pupils. The Teel
property, at the corner OF Fourteenth
and Bainbridge streets and extending
half way back to Porter street,
has been selected as a site for
the building for white and a lot
on Maury street near Sixteenth as the
one for colored children. At the
meeting Of the Finance Committee
held last night Judge Clopton, City
Attorney for Manchester, took occa-
sion to say that he had made thor
ough examination of the title to one OF
the pieces OF property selected. he
had made only partial examination OF
that Of the other.
This joint committee will DO able to
report to the Council Monday night
Just about how much money is needed,
and the appropriation OF bonds to that
amount will then be made. 1t is ex-
pected that work on the buildings will
begin this fall and that they will be
completed early in the next year, or
certainly before the commencement OF
the next term.
ASSISTANT TEACHERS.
A called meeting of the Manchester
School Board will b. held at y o'clock
tonight to receive the report of the
Finance Committee on the question OF
employing two assistant teachers-one
in the white and the other in the col
school-both in the primary grades.
The committee has made as full in
vestigation as possible into the
school finances, or what they will proba-
bly, be, aud will recommend that the
two assistants be employed at q salary
OF $50 per month each. The primary
grades in both the white and colored
schools, especially the former, are very
much overcrowded.
The present session, the first full one
OF nine months for several years, pio-
misses to be very successful one. The
school accommodations. with the pres
ent quarters, are much better than for
merly, the attendance is larger, and
when this term closes tho board, by the
most excellent management, will have
entirely extricated themselves from the
financial trouble with which the former
board had involved the schools Of Man
chester.